Ghost of a Brother
by Schni10
Summary: They weren't sure if it's real or not, or if they had just had an overdose of "Brother Stories." They had all seen it, or him, rather. The brother that was supposed to be gone... They had all seen the ghost of Edward Elric. AU! Rated T because I'm parinoi
1. Prologue

**Hey guys!  
>It's a Fullmetal Alchemist story this time. Yay!<br>This was inspired by the story _Always Here _by _Eternal She-Wolf _. Thanks for the great story! :)  
>This is AU (obviously) where Alphonse was the one to be a state alchemist and Ed had been taken by the Gate.<br>Hope you enjoy! :D **

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><p>Alphonse Elric and his older brother had done it. They had committed the greatest taboo.<p>

They had done a Human Transmutation. They tried to bring their mother back to life.

Of course, they paid for it. Alphonse had even lost his entire body. His brother lost his left leg. After seeing Alphonse disappear, his brother had sacrificed himself to bring him back.

Realizing what his brother had done, Alphonse vowed to get him back. It wouldn't be like with his mother. His brother wasn't dead, just stolen from him.

And he was going to get him back.

Alphonse had heard of the legendary Philosopher's Stone, a powerful transmutation amplifier that he was sure he could use to get his brother back.

His research material was limited. None of the civilian libraries had any information on the Philosopher's Stone, but he knew the military libraries did. So he decided to become a State Alchemist. Even though he was only twelve, he knew he could do it. He wasn't as good as his brother at alchemy, but he was also considered a prodigy.

He took the test and passed, and was put under the command of Colonel Roy Mustang, the Flame Alchemist.

All of Roy's subordinates (and Major Hughes and Major Armstrong too) grew fond of him. They all worried about him when he went on missions, took care of him (well, tried to, anyway) when he was in Central, and most of all, put up with his constant talk of his brother.

They all asked about him, curious about who Alphonse would work so hard for. After a while, they all felt as if they all knew Al's brother like he was there with them. They knew that he looked a little like Al; his hair was the same color, but he wore it long, his eyes were the same color, and he was shorter than Al ("He doesn't like to be reminded about that.") They knew that he didn't like to take orders from anyone ("Except Mom."), and that he hated milk ("_'So you're here again, punk'_ he would always say, glaring."). They never got tired of hearing about him, and Alphonse never ran out of things to say. Whenever Alphonse would start to tell about his brother, they would all listen as they worked.

What Alphonse didn't know, though, was that all of them, at one point or another, had seen more than one Elric brother walking down the street, researching in the library, or lounging in Alphonse's apartment.

They weren't sure if it's real or not, or if they had just had an overdose of "Brother Stories."

They had all seen it, or _him_, rather. The brother that was supposed to be gone.

They had all seen the ghost of Edward Elric.

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><p><strong>So that's the prologue! What'd you think?<strong>

**Please R&R! **


	2. Roy I: The test

**First chapter and two updates in one night! Woohoo!  
>Enjoy! :)<strong>

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><p>The first time Roy saw it was at the State Alchemist Certification test.<p>

He watched in skepticism as the blond-haired, golden-eyed boy stepped out. He couldn't have been older than twelve. How was he supposed to outdo his opponents, who surely had more experience; some had even taken the test before.

His skepticism turned to amazement as the boy transmuted a giant tower from the stone, and rode up to the sky on the roof of it.

_Without _a transmutation circle.

Roy looked around at the other astonished faces, then looked back at the boy, who was failing to hide a triumphant grin.

Then he saw it, or, more accurately, _him_. Just beside the boy was another. The two could've been brother's, they looked so alike, but there were notable differences. The other boy's long hair was tied back in a ponytail. His golden eyes had a determined fire burning in them, and even though he was shorter, he looked older; maybe thirteen or fourteen. His skin was a ghostly pale; almost transparent. It was almost as though he shimmered in the air.

The older boy stood, or rather, floated, next to the younger one with a smirk on his face, crossing his arms, and his eyes shining with pride.

Then Roy blinked, and he was gone; almost as if he wasn't there in the first place.

He shuddered, going a little pale. _What was that?_ He tried to brush it off, but it nagged at him.

By the time he turned his attention back to the test, it was over and people began filing out.

Later, he was introduced to his new subordinate.

"Alphonse Elric," The boy said. "I'm looking forward to working with you, sir."

Roy introduced himself, then dismissed Alphonse to go back to his apartment. As Alphonse turned to leave, a photo fell out of his pocket.

Roy picked it up. It showed three children out in the country. One was undoubtedly Alphonse, with his gentle golden eyes and broad smile. Another was a girl with long blond hair and bright blue eyes. She was smiling happily between the other two. The third was a boy.

Roy felt himself pale again. The boy had long, blond hair and golden-eyes. Roy had no doubt that this was a younger version of the boy he had seen before.

He stops Alphonse, handing him the picture.

"Who are the kids?" He asks.

Alphonse's smile grew sad. "Well, that's me on the left, my childhood friend, Winry in the middle, and...and my brother on the right. Edward." He looked down, trying to hide the pain in his eyes. "He's gone now..." he says softly at Roy's inquiring look.

There's silence for a moment. Then Roy says softly, "I'm sorry," and hands back the picture.

Alphonse nods and heads to his apartment.

Roy lingered in the hallway for a moment, shuddered, then headed back to his office, hoping that maybe doing some paperwork (even if he loathed it) might take his mind off the days events.

Just as he was about to write, Roy thought he heard a soft voice say:

"You'd better take care of my little brother, you bastard."

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><p><strong>So, did you like it, love it, hate it?<br>******Each chapter will probably be from the POV of different members of Roy's team seeing Ed with varying lengths.  
><strong>****Please R&R! Thanks for reading!**


	3. Hughes I: Thank You's

**Another chapter already? Must be a record for me. :)  
>It got shorter!(*sniffle*) I'm a little disappointed with it, but maybe you'll like it. :P<br>Hope you enjoy!**

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><p>Major Maes Hughes was a natural father.<p>

He would brag about his daughter to anyone who would listen ("Look at my beautiful daughter, Elicia! Isn't she adorable?"), much to their annoyance ("This is a military phone line, Hughes. Please don't use it for such trivial things."). He spoiled Elicia very much and loved his wife and daughter to death, and was always warm to almost anyone.

So, naturally, the first time he met Alphonse, he took a liking to him (and of course, the first thing he did was show him a picture of the adorable Elicia!). Maybe it was because Alphonse was so young that Maes felt a...fatherly affection, of sorts. Maybe he hoped to fill even a little of the gaping hole Al's family left behind.

Maes often invited (or, more than likely, kidnaped) Alphonse over for dinner, and later, to stay the night, seeing as Elicia and Gracia liked him. It became normal for Alphonse to go to the Hughes' for dinner at lease once a week, and come over frequently just to visit. He and Gracia would have a pleasant chat, and Elicia would take "Alphonse-nii" away to play.

It happened one night as they were all in the living room. As per usual, Elicia had drug Al away to play some game or another, and Maes and Gracia sat on the couch watching, talking quietly to each other. About two weeks earlier, Al had come back injured from a dangerous mission. Maes had him stay with them, to make sure he would get enough rest to recover, instead of pulling an all nighter studying texts. Under his and Gracia's care, he recovered quickly.

The doctor said he was healed for the most part, so Al was going back to his own apartment tonight.

"It'll be quieter without Al here," Gracia remarked. Maes hummed in agreement. They smiled and Elicia giggled as Al "tripped" on purpose and landed comically sprawled out on the floor, sticking his tongue out and pretending he was dead for Elicia's game of pretend.

Then Maes and Gracia hear a faint chuckle from the doorway. Startled, they turn. Maes eyes widen as he sees the boy. He had long, blond locks and golden colored eyes filled with amusement. He smiled as he looked at Al and Elicia, who were ignorant of their visitor.

"Idiot," the boy says fondly.

Maes had heard enough from Al to determine who this was, but he still couldn't believe it. It was impossible for him to be here.

The boy turns to them.

"Thank you for..." he starts, but the rest couldn't seem to come out. His face turns somber and he bows his head, his bangs shadowing his eyes.

Maes knew what he had wanted to say:

_ Thank you for being there when I couldn't._

Maes smiles warmly and says quietly, "You're very welcome, Edward.

The boy raises his head to look at him, gives a sad smile, and then shimmers and fades away.

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><p><strong>So that's it for this one! What'd you think? <strong>

**Ideas are welcome(but this doesn't mean I'll use all of them). ****Please R&R!**

**Emily OUT! **


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